Bill Bowerman Handmade Nike Waffle Spike Shoes
Made by hand by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman in the early 1970s, these Waffle Spike Shoes are the first and only hand-crafted Bowerman shoes to ever appear at auction. They were built for runner John Mays, whom Bowerman coached at Oregon, and who wore the shoes during the 1972 Olympic Trials. Most notably, the right shoe sports a waffle sole, a technical innovation invented by Bowerman that had a huge role in the early success of Nike. Both shoes have their original laces, show signs of the brown glue Bowerman used to fuse the uppers together, and read "MAYS" on the heels in Bowerman's handwriting. They're accompanied by a letter from Bowerman asking Mays to test modifications made in 1974 (he never did), and will undoubtedly become one of the most expensive pairs of Nikes ever sold when the bidding ends on June 26.
